| / English Dictionary |
BIRD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("bird" is a kind of...):
craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)
Meronyms (parts of "bird"):
bird; fowl (the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food)
syrinx (the vocal organ of a bird)
preen gland; uropygial gland (oil-secreting gland situated at the base of the tail in most birds)
air sac (any of the membranous air-filled extensions of the lungs of birds)
croup; croupe; hindquarters; rump (the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks)
uropygium (posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow)
bird's foot (the foot of a bird)
pennon; pinion (wing of a bird)
wing (a movable organ for flying (one of a pair))
feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)
furcula (a forked bone formed by the fusion of the clavicles of most birds)
beak; bill; neb; nib; pecker (horny projecting mouth of a bird)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bird"):
twitterer (a bird that twitters)
aquatic bird (wading and swimming and diving birds of either fresh or salt water)
trogon (forest bird of warm regions of the New World having brilliant lustrous plumage and long tails)
piciform bird (any of numerous nonpasserine insectivorous climbing birds usually having strong bills for boring wood)
caprimulgiform bird (long-winged nonpasserine birds)
apodiform bird (nonpasserine bird having long wings and weak feet; spends much of its time in flight)
coraciiform bird (chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holes)
cuculiform bird (birds having zygodactyl feet (except for the touracos))
parrot (usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds)
gallinacean; gallinaceous bird (heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds)
bird of prey; raptor; raptorial bird (any of numerous carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals)
nonpasserine bird (chiefly arboreal birds especially of the order Coraciiformes)
passeriform bird; passerine (perching birds mostly small and living near the ground with feet having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping the perch; most are songbirds; hatchlings are helpless)
carinate; carinate bird; flying bird (birds having keeled breastbones for attachment of flight muscles)
flightless bird; ratite; ratite bird (flightless birds having flat breastbones lacking a keel for attachment of flight muscles: ostriches; cassowaries; emus; moas; rheas; kiwis; elephant birds)
archaeornis (extinct primitive toothed bird with a long feathered tail and three free clawed digits on each wing)
Ibero-mesornis (sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Cretaceous period having a vestigial tail; found in Spain; considered possibly the third most primitive of all birds)
Sinornis (sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Jurassic period to the Cretaceous period having a keeled breastbone and vestigial tail; found in China; considered possibly the second most primitive of all birds)
archaeopteryx; Archaeopteryx lithographica; archeopteryx (extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones; usually considered the most primitive of all birds)
protoavis (most primitive avian type known; extinct bird of the Triassic having bird-like jaw and hollow limbs and breastbone with dinosaur-like tail and hind limbs)
bird of passage (any bird that migrates seasonally)
night bird (any bird associated with night: owl; nightingale; nighthawk; etc)
nester (a bird that has built (or is building) a nest)
hen (adult female bird)
cock (adult male bird)
dickey-bird; dickeybird; dicky-bird; dickybird (small bird; adults talking to children sometimes use these words to refer to small birds)
Holonyms ("bird" is a member of...):
flock (a group of birds)
Aves; class Aves ((ornithology) the class of birds)
Derivation:
bird (watch and study birds in their natural habitat)
Domain member category:
chirpy ((birds or insects) characterized by or tending to chirp)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Badminton equipment consisting of a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers
Synonyms:
bird; birdie; shuttle; shuttlecock
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("bird" is a kind of...):
badminton equipment (equipment for playing the game of badminton)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt
Synonyms:
bird; boo; Bronx cheer; hiss; hoot; raspberry; razz; razzing; snort
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("bird" is a kind of...):
call; cry; outcry; shout; vociferation; yell (a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food
Synonyms:
bird; fowl
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Hypernyms ("bird" is a kind of...):
meat (the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food)
Meronyms (parts of "bird"):
wishbone; wishing bone (the furcula of a domestic fowl)
drumstick (the lower joint of the leg of a fowl)
second joint; thigh (the upper joint of the leg of a fowl)
wing (the wing of a fowl)
giblet; giblets (edible viscera of a fowl)
oyster (a small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl)
parson's nose; pope's nose (the tail of a dressed fowl)
dark meat (the flesh of the legs of fowl used as food)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bird"):
poultry (flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food)
wildfowl (flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food)
Holonyms ("bird" is a part of...):
bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Informal terms for a (young) woman
Synonyms:
bird; chick; dame; doll; skirt; wench
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("bird" is a kind of...):
fille; girl; miss; missy; young lady; young woman (a young female)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Watch and study birds in their natural habitat
Synonyms:
bird; birdwatch
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "bird" is one way to...):
observe (watch attentively)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Sentence example:
In the summer they like to go out and bird
Derivation:
bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)
birder (a person who identifies and studies birds in their natural habitats)
Context examples:
You are like a frigate bird swooping down upon the boobies and robbing them of the fish they have caught.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Because the biologists used computational simulations, they were able to look at the full range of potential hurricane sizes — from storms that caused no bird deaths to storms that were more severe.
(Coastal birds can weather the storm, but not the sea, National Science Foundation)
No birds flew in the chill air.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
For me, I say, no; but then I am old, and life, with his sunshine, his fair places, his song of birds, his music and his love, lie far behind.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me; now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal stillness.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
This is typically measured in birds and other non-mammalian verebrates.
(Nucleated Thrombocyte Count, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
This is typically measured in birds and other non-mammalian vertebrates.
(Nucleated Thrombocyte Count, NCI Thesaurus)
Infection with CHLAMYDOPHILA PSITTACI (formerly Chlamydia psittaci), transmitted to man by inhalation of dust-borne contaminated nasal secretions or excreta of infected birds.
(Ornithosis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A member of the Columbidae family of birds with a stout body and short neck.
(Pigeon, NCI Thesaurus)
A member of the Columbidae family of birds, most commonly referring to the species Columba livia.
(Pigeon, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
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